On Shabbat Shirah, we sing our way together into freedom, through the Red Sea. Pinchas of Koretz, 18th c, taught that, ‘...sometimes, when a person sings, he cannot raise his voice. But when someone comes to help and sings strongly, this in turn gives the first person the ability to raise her own voice [to match]. This is the secret significance of uniting, soul to soul.’
When the Israelites were in slavery, they could not free themselves because they had become isolated in their despair. They had come to believe that no one could help them, and nothing could relieve their suffering. They emotionally walled themselves off from caring about each other, and focussed only on their own individual survival. Looking for help from another slave was futile, and seeing someone they cared about suffer was too painful. It was better not to see. The Israelites became like the almond we eat at Tu Bshvat, hard on the outside and the inside.
But when Moses and Aaron came, they brought a new message, a new song. Their message of potentiality was like a niggun, note by note, sound by sound, opening the hearts and hopes of the Israelites. Little by little, they began to look up and imagine what could be. There is a midrash that says that when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, some of the people looked down, and saw only the mud and the difficulty of crossing. The people who looked up and could see the future waiting for them ahead, followed Miriam singing with her timbrel. They were the ones who reached the other side uplifted.
For those of you who are waiting to receive your vaccine, look up, see the future, and know that soon we will all be able to dance and sing together in person again.
I look forward to singing and eating with you tonight at our Kabbalat Shabbat Tu Bshvat Seder, as we look toward spring, even though it is freezing outside today. When we gather and share Shabbat together on Zoom, we lend our voice to each other and we raise each other up.
May your Shabbat be filled with song, good food and hope.
Below is a Tu Bshvat playlist that may help to lift your spirits.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3GyAzSEqxG3JzMo13S8FVn 
